Workmen's advocate., 1887-01-01
A SOCIALIST ABBE. OLD TRUTHS FOR NEW ARCH-
 BISHOPS.
"Eniranchised Labor Will Become Master of the Orld"-The An ger of Beasts and Com.
 plaints of Nultures.
 The Rahble.

l Ht hdHUlt.
 While all the gossip in the capital istlc papers concerning the attitude of the Roman Catholic church to- ward the labor movement in general and the position of one of its divmes anent Henry Georges theory on Land. it is interesting to the student to examine what has been the teach. ing of some of the wisest of the church's officers in days gone by,
 There have been men in the pull pit who stood out above their fellow priests to hold up the living truth when at times it seemed to be in danger.
 Such a man was the Abbe de la Mennais, who, in France in the last century, braved the scorn of the rich and powerful. Let us quote a few of his sayings translated about a half-century ago by Nathaniel Greene in Boston, who by the way at the time said that it was then (lS30) ap- plicable to the people of Europe, who were at the time suffering from evils and oppression. which we have happily escaped little thinking how soon it might apply to our peo- pie.
 ''ln passing through this world, as we all pass, poor travellers of a day, have heard great lamentations: have opened my eyes and beheld unheard- of sufferings. l innumerahle sorrows Humanity has stood before me, pale, diseased, fuinting, covered with mourning garments that were besplinkled with blood, and have asked myself, is this man? Is this he such as God created him? But l soon discovered that these sutferings and these sorrows came not from God; that they are the work of man himself, sunk in ig- norance and corrupted in his passions.
 "Thou sayest, am cold; and, to warm thy attenuated members, thy masters bind them with triple chains of iron. Thou sayest, am hungry; and they re, ply to thee, eat the crumbs swept from our festal halls. Thou sayest, l am athirst; and they answer, drink thy tears Thou faintest under the burthen of thy tolls, and thy masters rejoice; they call thy fatigues and thy exhaustion tine nec- essary curb of labor.
 The good Abbe depicted the ac- tion of those who oppose the efforts of the people to cast off the chains of oppression in a manner which ap- plies to the politicians and high priests of the day. Of such he said:
 The anger of these bad men, when the weak shake off the chains that bind them, is it not the anger of the ferocious beast with it's struggling victim? And their complaints, are they not the complaints of the vulture at the escape of itsprey?
 On the division of interests caused by the inequalities of wealth, he said:
 "No rivalry is possible where there is but one interest; neither can there be dissensions. That which originates dis sension, envy, hatred, is the unsuitable desire of possessing more and always more, when one posses for himself alone. Solitary possessions are accursed of heav- en. necessarily irritating, they never satisfy the desire of gain. That wealth only which is shared can be enjoyed"
 He was equally clear in showing how the inequalities were fostered, as here:
 "They have made laws for their own advantage, and have maintained them by force On one side, power, wealth, luxurious indulgence; on the other, all the burthens of society.
 "In other tunes, without absolutely depriving him Of liberty, they have so managed that almost the entire fruit of his labor reverted to those who held him in dependence. Complete slavery had been better for him. For the master at least feeds, lodges, and clothes his slave, and nurses him in sickness, on account of the pecuniary interest he has in his preservation. But he who belongs to no one is used only so long as profit can be drawn from him, after which he is left to suffer unaided. What is he good for when age and labor have consumed his strength? To die in the streets of cold and hunger Yet his aspect shocks those who are enjoying all the pleasures